Most of us engage in exercise and clean eating for the wrong reasons. I did it for many years. For some time, I went through a rough period in my marriage. It didn’t matter how physically fit and healthy both of us were, our relationship wasn’t a happy one.

I stopped exercising for a few months. I gained about ten pounds. My body felt incredibly good, no more soreness or joint pain, though my marriage was falling apart. It didn’t take long for a heavy cloud of shame to settle over my head. Not even hours of meditation could save me from the pressure to go back to the gym and clean up my act. It had been about three months at this point, and the feelings of shame and fear were unbearable. How many of us exercise because we feel pressured to be lean and thin to fit the rules of society, please others, or because we are ashamed of our bodies?